Look At the Lanterns
by 8027dreamer8027
Summary: Look at the heavens and count the stars That's how much I love you Look at the ocean and measure its depth That's how deep my love for you is Look at the sun on a hot summer day That's how bright my love for you burns Look at the earth and all its glory Not even that can compare to you 8027 Fanfic


Disclaimer-"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."

I do not own KHR

Look At

Look at the heavens and count the stars

That's how much I love you

Look at the ocean and measure its depth

That's how deep my love for you is

Look at the sun on a hot summer day

That's how bright my love for you burns

Look at the earth and all its glory

Not even that can compare to

you

It was just like any other day at Namimori Middle School, Tsuna was as clumsy as ever, Gokudera tried fending for Tsuna but it didn't help and Yamamoto was well Yamamoto. As the teacher droned on about some history thing thew brunette couldn't help but let his gaze wander to his best friend, who sat in front of him. Yamamoto was listening intently to the lecture – or probably day dreaming about baseball it's hard to read him, Takeshi kept good grades and was actually pretty intelligent but most of the time he relied on luck. Yamamoto smile a lot. Tsuna, however, saw through it completely. Yamamoto must get tired of it, sometimes. Smiling. It's almost like he never stops… sometimes Tsuna wonders what goes on in that head of his.

Tsuna remembered when Yamamoto and Squalo were fighting – that serious look on Takeshi's face made the hair on the back of the 10th's neck stand up; even just thinking about it makes him shiver. And anyhow, nothing ever seemed to get Yamamoto down. Even the fact that he was now tangled up in this whole mafia … Tsuna sighed lightly, resting his cheek in the palm of his hand. Does he actually think its just a game. He is just too hard to figure out.

"Sawada-kun!"

The Vongola jerked in his seat and squeaked lightly, standing up immediately at the call of his teacher, who raised a brow and crossed his arms with a strict look on his face.

"What did I just say?"

Sweating terribly now, he began to think hard trying to remember what the teacher had said before, not recalling anything he bowed his head in shame and said "I do not know?"

The teacher raised a brow, and Tsuna immediately flopped back down into his seat, blushing furiously.

"May anyone repeat what I just said to Sawada-kun?" the teacher asked

"On Monday we are going to Akita City to see the Kanto Matsuri festival, Juudaime!" Gokudera said from next to him, with a big and insanely bright smile. Ugh, even Gokudera was listening and he would normally just daydream in class because he knows the lesson already since he is very intelligent.

Hanging his head, he heard the teacher dismiss the class for lunch, and let out a big sigh. A hand suddenly fell on his shoulder which made him look up into golden eyes, which were smiling.

"It's okay Tsuna I wasn't listening either I kind of zoned out hahah." Yamamoto said, pulling his chair around to sit in it backwards, pulling out the bento box and chopsticks from his bag

"Thanks, what were you thinking about?" Tsuna asked, really curious. His head tilted upwards as he picked out the lunch that mama made him, Gokudera shuffling over to his desk as well, opening a soda and taking a sandwich out.

Yamamoto nodded, "Oh nothing just baseball and stuff. Hey Gokudera can you give us more details for the trip. "The baseball nut smiled and Tsuna's heart fluttered a bit.

"Please Gokudera?" Tsuna Asked as well

Gokudera growled and shoved Yamamoto's shoulder. "OI! Don't start ordering me around. I'll explain it for Juudaime!"

Takeshi chuckled good-naturedly and raised his hands innocently. "Okay, okay Gokudera. I wasn't ordering you around."

Grumbling, the silver-haired youth turned to Tsuna with a smile as well as an accompanying nudge to the boss' shoulder. "The festival is The Kanto Matsuri ("pole lantern festival") is a Tanabata related celebration in Akita City, held every year from August 3rd to 6th. The highlight of the festival is an impressive display of skill in which performers balance kanto, or long bamboo poles with arrays of paper lanterns attached to the end. We will go there and stay for the final night of the festival."

"Oh, ok." He said, picking up some rice and chewing on it thoughtfully. "is the entire class going or just some."

The right-hand man smiled broadly. "Everyone is going but we get to pick our own groups to venture around the festival."

"You, Me and Yamamoto could be a Group." Tsuna said with a slight smile, but Gokudera growled at the mention of Takeshi's name.

"Well that just means the three of us can have time together! It's been a while since we've been together ourselves without sempai and the rest of the guardians." Takeshi said, nodding as he took a bite of his takoyaki.

Tsuna smiled softly; Yamamoto, always finding the bright side of things. And he was right – the boys hadn't had there time in a while. Thank god that his family and reborn was away. Last he'd heard, Reborn was off to visit NoNo, and Lambo and I-Pin were going with mama in a cruise around the islands. So Tsuna knew that they wouldn't be bothered by the usual crowd, which was definitely nice.

The silver-haired youth was still a bit defiant, staying silent while shoving tiny pieces of bread into his mouth.

"Sounds awesome, guys." Tsuna said with a smile, nodding and taking a drink of his water. He couldn't wait for the monday, now; he was excited to spend it with his best friends.

Monday morning seemed to be forever. Tsuna couldn't understand why the school bus was going so damn slow. They were on the highway for 2 hour but there was no sight of traffic anywhere. The 10th thought he was going to go crazy; he plumped the back of his head onto the head rest and let out a frustrated groan, followed by a sigh. He glared briefly at his watch, but was shocked out of his anger when a hand landed on top of his hand. Giving an undignified yelp, his small body nearly jumping back hiding from the person who touched him, Tsuna covered his face to hide the red stain on his cheek, and then slowly spread his fingers to see Yamamoto staring at him intently .

"Oh, Yamamoto." Tsuna let out a sigh of relief – he had forgotten that Yamamoto sat beside him! He matched the baseball nut's smile easily and turned in his seat a bit, completely forgetting about the stupid watch on his hand.

"Yo, Tsuna." The darker-haired youth raised a hand in greeting. He sat contently on his seat smiling widely . It was a common thing for Yamamoto to do, but Tsuna always thought it was…Kawaii? No, Kawaii wasn't the word. It just _seemed to fit_the taller teen.

While thinking about his friend, Tsuna noticed the awkward silence that hung between them. Where was Gokudera? He wasn't there to start an argument or start fussing over the Juudaime. Glancing around, Tsuna's gaze finally landed on Yamamoto.

"Er… where's Gokudera?"

Yamamoto chuckled lightly and rubbed the back of his neck. "On our way to the buss this morning a bunch of fan girls stopped him. Gokudera was blocked instantly. I managed to escape but he didn't make it Hahaha. So he sat all the way in the front. Oh well."

Tsuna sighed slightly. Okay, he was ready to spend the weekend with his friends - **friends**, that's plural. Hopefully Gokudera could meet up with them after the bus ride. Tsuna had been thinking about this trip all day and hopefully he could escape.

"Oi," Yamamoto patted Tsuna's shoulder none-too-lightly (though affectionately), making Tsuna waver and whimper a bit. "It's okay. Me and you can go together! If Gokudera can't escape. It'll be just as fun."

_Just Us…_

This was starting to turn into more of a date than just a school trip… Tsuna growled and grabbed his bag, watching Yamamoto as the baseball freak stare

On one hand, though… he was almost happy to spend time with the baseball nut.

Later on…

They have finally arrived in the hotel that they were staying at and since it was only his class on the trip they had provided a room for each student. It was rather unfortunate actually.

Soon the bus was open and the student began to go to their assigned rooms. For some reason the rooms were not numbered correctly since his room was number 27 and Yamamoto's room was number 80 but both rooms were beside each other.

Opening the door, Tsuna slithered in and blinked at his bed, where a simple navy blue yukata was waiting for him. Curiosity getting the better of him, the brunet sat up and picked up the small note that had been left on top of the clothing.

_Dame-Tsuna –_

_Enjoy the festival._

_Reborn!_

"… damn baby." Tsuna glared at the note and threw it aside, not taking notice of the little note scribbled behind the paper. He stood and stripped himself pulling on the yukata and fastening it together. Turning to glance in the small mirror he had in his room, he smiled lightly. "Well, I guess I should go get Yama-…"

_**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!**_

Ah. Maybe Yamamoto was already here. Tsuna flinched slightly.

"Tsuna, are you ready?" Yamamoto asked, chuckling lightly. One of his hands was still on the door, the other rubbing the back of his head. Yamamoto's eyes opened and he regarded Tsuna, and then the teen seemed to be frozen.

"Yamamoto…?" Tsuna asked, blinking and tilting his head. Takeshi looked like he had just seen a ghost – oh, nope, now his tanned cheeks were starting to get a slight tint of pink on them.

"…" Tsuna glanced down at himself, since that's where Yamamoto's eyes were attached. Ah, the top of his yukata wasn't fastened correctly and was hanging open on the right side, exposing his collar bone and some more of his milky skin. Blinking a few times, noticing the situation, Tsuna made a squeal in the back of his throat before reaching up and grabbing the material, bringing it all together and fastening quickly it with a blush.

Why was it so awkward? . They were guys. They were friends. It was okay.

But for some reason, the way that Yamamoto stared at him, over his revealed skin, it made Tsuna's flesh hot all over. It was…bizarre. Yamamoto caught on quickly; when Tsuna's eyes lifted to the baseball nut the teen's blush had deepened a bit, but he was pulling something out of his yukata.

While Yamamoto read off the schedule of the festival, Tsuna tried (as much as he could) to pay attention. He had even sat down on the floor while the taller teen sat on the small chair on the floor and laid out the piece of paper, using a nearby pencil to mark up the things that looked interesting.

Tsuna's head tilted slightly. No, there was nothing different about him. He was still the same Yamamoto that he saw every day for the past few years; still smiling, still laughing, eyes still gleaming warmly. There were times when Tsuna knew Yamamoto was smiling just for the sake of it, and the vongola knew there were times Yamamoto smiled for real. Right now the baseball player was smiling for real.

Blinking, Tsuna stared at Yamamoto, who was doing the same. A moment of passed between the two friends, Tsuna feeling bad for not paying attention to whatever Takeshi was saying, and Yamamoto thinking that Tsuna had been paying attention.

"Er… sounds great!" Tsuna said, wincing mentally. Whatever he had agreed to, he hoped it was safe. "Um where is Gokudera-kun?"

"Oh he said he found some UMA and he needed track it down. So he won't be joining us tonight." Takeshi said. Tsuna Sighed at least he wasn't taken by Bianchi with a stomach ache.

Yamamoto smiled. "All right! We're set." He stood up from the chair and tucked the note back into the recesses of his orange yukata.

Tsuna nodded and started out the door as he and Yamamoto began to exit out of the hotel room. He was too busy thinking to notice Takeshi picking up the note from Reborn, flipping it over to read the other side. A genuine, pure smile graced his features, and he set the note down before following Tsuna.

A lot of the other people in the town were dressed in similar garments – yukatas and kimonos – heading towards the center of the city where the festival was being held. Tsuna could not see any of his classmates but he knew they were here, somewhere.

"It's kind of weird," Tsuna started his chest as they walked. It was starting to get cold in the evening. It felt weird for tsuna to be with just Yamamoto. He didn't want to offend Yamamoto and make the other teen think that Tsuna didn't want to spend time with him. He turned his face upwards towards the baseball freak, smiling.

"Yeah. But it's peaceful." Yamamoto commented, smiling back at Tsuna. The Tenth completely agreed; Haru wasn't scolding anyone on how they treated the babies!', Gokudera wasn't blowing everything up, Reborn wasn't shooting Tsuna… it was peaceful. And as much as Tsuna enjoyed the company of his friends , he loved the peace and quiet.

Tsuna smiled softly.

"Ah" Yamamoto pointed, making Tsuna follow his finger. A few fireworks had been lit, and both of the Tsuna's faces lit up with excitement. "Looks like its starting. !"

"Tsuna, let's try this!" Yamamoto grabbed Tsuna's hand, making the brunet's heart skip a beat as he was dragged over to a snack stand.

He smiled as Yamamoto glanced at the different options – the theme was Takeshi picked up a skewer that held a fish on it.

"Look, it's just like Haru!" Yamamoto chuckled, then picked out a rather cute snake for Tsuna. He paid for them – even though Tsuna protested– and then lightly pushed the tenth back out into the crowd. "It's my treat tonight, okay?" Yamamoto said, smiling and nudging Tsuna with his elbow lightly.

As they munched on some takoyaki and wandered out of the foodstands , they entered the general merchandise section. People were selling all sorts of things. They slowed down so they could take in all that had to be offered, and Tsuna couldn't help but buy a few trinkets. After he was done shopping he had two medium-sized bags hanging off of one arm. Now he felt like his conscience could rest, since he'd bought gifts for the people that had to miss out on the festival .

Yamamoto ran around the festival like crazy and dragged Tsuna along him. Their hands always found each other as they merged into the large masses of people; whether it was to not lose each other or not, Tsuna didn't care. Half of the time he didn't even realize it until Yamamoto squeezed his hand to get his attention. A few people stared in their direction but nobody seemed to mind too much about it, but a couple times Tsuna blushed when some girls would look at them and giggled.

"Hey, Tsuna,"

Tsuna glanced up at the Rain guardian, head tilted and eyes wide as Takeshi smiled softly at him.

"What do you think of this?"

Yamamoto held out two necklaces. One that was ocean blue, it had a silvery outline and was in the shape of a tear drop. The other was an orange circle with a gold outline and a tear drop hole in the center. The two necklaces seemed to be a pair.

"These…-"

"- are paid for." Yamamoto smiled brightly, and as Tsuna's jaw dropped a bit he pushed the tenth away from the stand and back into the crowd. Tsuna tried protesting while Takeshi began to put the blue necklace on him while Takeshi wore the orange necklace.

"Now we'll always be connected." Takeshi said

All protests about the gift left Tsuna's mind. Instead he began to blush a deep shade of red Yamamoto chuckled and slung an arm around the blushing brunet, bringing the smaller teen into his side as he simultaneously leaned down to whisper into the Tsuna's ear.

"Let's go see the Night parade."

Tsuna was blushing lightly at the closeness of Yamamoto's lips to his ear shell. He could feel the hot breath over his skin, and he shivered– but he chalked it up to the evening being a bit cooler.

A hand pat Tsuna's head, and the Tsuna fumed lightly. His eyes traveled over to the street where the parade was taking place. People on the street began to dance with 12 meter poles that had up too forty six lanterns on them. Then one performer began to dance with his lanterns and the message on the lanterns was as clears as day.

_I LOVE YOU TSUNA_

The dancer began to dance towards them. When the lanterns were directly above them everyone was staring.

"Tsuna,"

Both teens turned their heads at the same time, and the end result was their noses bumping against each other lightly. A blush dusted over Tsuna's features.

"Look at the heavens and count the stars

That's how much I love you

Look at the ocean and measure its depth

That's how deep my love for you is

Look at the sun on a hot summer day

That's how bright my love for you burns

Look at the earth and all its glory

Not even that can compare to you"

Yamamoto Said. They stayed in place like that for a few moments, the fireworks casting colorful glowing shadows over their faces so did the lanterns, and then it happened. Their lips touched, just the gentlest of brushes. It sent a slight spark of electricity through Tsuna; it was his first kiss, and he never expected it would feel this good, let alone be with one of his best friends. Their lips stayed pressed together, and Tsuna felt his eyelids slowly drifting shut. A hand reached up and fingers gently caressed the Tenths cheek, and the smaller teen instinctively leaned into it.

The kiss was incredibly sweet. Not just the amount of fondness of it, but from what they had eaten as well. Tsuna's senses were on overdrive, his whole body receptive of what was happening. Goosebumps formed on his forearms and he shivered slightly; he wasn't sure if it was the cold or the feelings that were forming in the pit of his stomach.

All too soon Yamamoto pulled away, his fingers still tangled in the brown locks. The baseball player's breathing pace had increased a bit, and so had Tsuna's.

It was nice. Don't dwell on it. Don't think about it.

Just let it happen.

Again Tsuna felt protected in the embrace of the baseball idiot, resting his head against the taller teen's chest and watching the lanterns above. The snuggling was doing good for his body temperature, which had dropped and risen quite quickly in such a short amount of time. Now he was comfortable and cozy in Yamamoto's arms. Everyone's eyes were no longer on the parade but on the two boys.

Yamamoto assured the man that they enjoyed the fireworks and lanterns as he grabbed something from a corner, leaving Tsuna stranded for just a moment before returning to the smaller boy's side, helping him arrange the gift bags on his arms. As they walked away Takeshi turned and gave a smile and a nod to the dancer."Ready to go home?" Takeshi asked, snapping Tsuna out of his daze.

Tsuna nodded as they continued to walk, exiting the slowly dying grounds of the fair. People were retiring for the night, pleased with the lantern parade and delicious food that they had enjoyed. Tsuna and Yamamoto were among them; Tsuna was still pressed against Yamamoto's side, feeling the beginnings of sleep to tug at his eyes.

Once at the hotel room, Yamamoto helped Tsuna inside and up to his bedroom, where he set the gift bags down on the table and pushed Tsuna down onto the bed gently, helping the tenth untangle his yukata and get under the covers. He didn't linger for too long, but just as he got up to leave, a small hand grabbed the baseball players', halting him from leaving.

"Takeshi…"

The use of his first name from the boss' lips made Yamamoto turn and give the brunet a curious look. Tsuna's eyes were droopy, and a small smile was on his face.

"I Love You Too …"

Takeshi smiled in return and bent down, pressing a gentle, tender kiss to the tenth's lips. He straightened and gave Tsuna's hand a squeeze, then turned to leave the bedroom.

As the door closed a small glass lantern sat on top of the table. The glass lantern had something on it;

LOVE

ME

TILL

MY

HEART

STOPS


End file.
